Originality That Pushes Boundaries & Awesome Live Shows
5
By xiape
I actually came to Phantogram sometime last year. I saw them on Guitar Center Sessions on DirecTV's Audience Channel & was amazed by the live show they were able to do. You could tell that they could push the boundaries in the studio, but to first see them perform this electro-pop, hearing how clean & honest the live show really is, it's an event that has the ability to alter you in unexpected ways. When you finally hear the recording & realize just how much they capture their live essence in-studio is just amazing.
It's been pretty common for bands to do things a little differently in studio--David Bowie, Dave Grohl, & Trent Reznor, just to name a few, have actually recorded entire albums by themselves in-studio & only put bands together later when it became clear they'd have to play it live at some point soon after the album release. I don't know if Phantogram had a similar experience & revelation, but they seem to have taken the same tack musically.
While they've apparently played some shows as a duo early on, they added drums in 2010 & guitar/synth in 2013 for their live shows, shows which, in my estimation, rival some of the best I've seen, from Phish to The Dead, from Rush to Primus, Phantogram delivers an awesome show allowing themselves room to improvise while delivering the essence of the album. This is almost the opposite of what they do in the studio.
In studio, Phantogram is as good as any. They're obviously professional, but their work pushes boundaries & tests the limits of what good music of any genre can do, music as art as expression, & this fusion of electronica, funk, industrial, & pop has plenty to say. It seems they take some ques from influences like Bowie, The Beatles, Sonic Youth, The Flaming Lips, Prince, The Stooges, Mott The Hoople, et al; however, these two songwriters & musicians are intent on their own statement within that framework.
I, for one, am a fan & can't wait to see what Phantogram will do next. Neither can I wait to see them live should they come out to my neck of the woods. Until then, I'll have to make do with listening to everything I can find, hoping that maybe they'll release a solid live album of some 25-or-so songs so that I can blast it as loud as my ears will allow & pretend I'm standing in the front of the stage having my mind blown. Definitely buy everything these guys have done & will do. You'll be happy you did (frankly, I can't believe there are only 88 reviews at the time I'm writing this).
